Largo Fire Rescue takes festive approach to house fire prevention
LARGO, Fla. (FOX 13) - In a festive approach to house fire prevention, Largo Fire Rescue is using wreaths to share tips and raise awareness this holiday season.
The campaign is called Keep the Wreath Green. Every time crews respond to a house fire, one of the green lights on the wreath is switched to red.
It began about a week ago, and firefighters already responded to a couple of house fires.
Two Largo families dealt with mobile home fires in the last week; one caused by an AC panel and the cause of the second fire unclear.
Largo Fire Rescue Public Educator Summer Mahr said both fires are represented on wreaths.
“Fire safety is usually not the first thing that everyone usually thinks about. Being that, during the holidays, fires are so frequent, we really just wanted to take advantage of that situation to really raise awareness,” said Mahr.
This year, people will pass one of the lit wreaths on display at the Largo Community Center and Largo Public Library.
Colder weather already resulted in a couple of space heater fires this holiday season, and Largo firefighters are also watching out for other preventable fires.
“Unattended cooking is actually one of our number one causes of home fires and injuries across the U.S.,” said Mahr.
The awareness campaign wraps up after January 1, and then firefighters will tally up how many house fires they responded to during the holiday season and let the public know. There is one white bulb on the wreath to represent firefighters who died in the line of duty.